Chapter 101
When we fled into the central government building, the harpies' cries remained noisy, but there was no sign of any of them entering. As expected, they seemed reluctant to go indoors. After confirming that we were safe, we faced the beautiful woman who had helped us at the building's entrance.
"First, allow me to thank you. I am truly grateful that you helped us."
"Thank you very much!"
We bowed sincerely to express our gratitude. Since we did not know who she was, we could not afford to do anything foolish. Even setting aside any ulterior motives, expressing gratitude to someone who had saved us was only natural.
"Please raise your heads. There is no need for thanks. I helped you because I had a purpose of my own."
The beautiful woman continued in a courteous manner.
"I neglected to introduce myself. I am Android No. 18. I formerly served as the first secretary to the governor-general of the sky city Skyland."
Wait! Hold on! That was too much information! Android? The sky city Skyland? The governor-general? A secretary? Just sorting through and analyzing all that information was going to be a major undertaking!
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Android General-Purpose Type No. 18 Quality: Poor Rarity: S (Special Class)
An Android, a high-end model of Golems that have acquired advanced judgment and self-awareness.
Some functions are malfunctioning due to deterioration over time.
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In my confusion, I reflexively used 【Appraisal】. No, calm down. This was neither the time to do that nor the time to think about it. I could put it off for later.
"How very courteous of you. I am Izam of the Chaos Abyss Dragonbone High Lich. The others are my companions, and we call ourselves the 'Nightwalkers'—a clan... a group. There aren't many of us yet, though."
Before anything else, I needed to communicate with the beautiful woman in front of me—should I call her No. 18?—and tell her that we were not enemies. If possible, bringing her over to our side had to be our top priority.
There were two main reasons. First, she was like a treasure chest of information. Judging from her introduction, she was probably a survivor from when this 'Ancient Ruined City' was still prosperous. With her help, we would know where to investigate and where important, rare items and information were hidden. Our exploration efficiency should increase dramatically.
The second reason concerned the other players. We had come to this floating island through extraordinary good fortune, but we could not be so conceited as to believe that fortune would benefit only us. We did not know when, but it was certain that other players would eventually reach this place. If No. 18's existence became known to them, a struggle to claim her would be inevitable.
Before things became that troublesome, I wanted to bring her completely into our camp if possible. Even if that proved impossible, I wanted to earn enough trust that she would certainly choose us over the other players when forced to weigh us against them.
"So, to get straight to the point, could you tell us about your objective?"
"Of course, Izam-sama. I have only one objective: defeating the monster occupying the roof of this central government building, the Harpy Chief."
Oh? That was useful information. Just as Jigoro had said, there really was a boss on the roof. We had even learned about it before fighting it. This should make things considerably easier than the boss battles we had tackled blind so far.
"Huh? Isn't that the enemy we're after?"
Oh! Hey!
"Is that so?"
"...That's right."
Faced with No. 18's surprised expression, I had no choice but to confirm it. I had intended to hide our objective and drive up the reward, but Ruby had ruined that scheme.
Well, it couldn't be helped. Change of plans! I would just go with the flow of the conversation! Whatever happened, happened! Wait, wasn't that what we always did?
"For people to appear just as my operational limit is approaching, and to challenge such a powerful monster... Could this too be the guidance of the goddess...?"
"Actually, we are monsters too... Come to think of it, why did you help us?"
I asked about something that had suddenly caught my attention. No. 18 had helped us, even though we were monsters, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Why had she done so?
"It is quite simple. You and your companions were being attacked by those detestable harpies."
"Because the enemy of your enemy is your ally?"
"No, that is not what I meant. To be honest, I am embarrassed to say that my visual system has been malfunctioning for several decades."
"Does that mean... you're blind?"
"No. My vision is currently covered by coarse mosaic patterns across the entire field of view. Thus, when I saw you from a distance, I assumed that you were a beast tamer and their familiars."
Seriously...? I never imagined that she had saved us because she had mistaken us for humans. Even so, she was remarkably polite. And why was she openly telling us about her own mistake in the first place?
"I certainly did not expect even you, Izam-sama, to be a monster—much less a Race not even found in my data. However, after actually speaking with you, I have determined that there is no problem."
"Oh? And what is the basis for that conclusion?"
"You are not merely capable of speech, Izam-sama. You are also rational. Even now, you are attempting to analyze information from my statements, are you not?"
Ugh, had she seen straight through my thoughts? I was wearing a mask, and beneath it was a skeleton's face, so she should not have been able to read my expression. Was this Android not far too capable? Though she did seem to be malfunctioning.
"I understand the situation. Besides, we were already planning to fight that monster, so we would be happy to accept your request."
"Thank you. This should be the greatest—and simultaneously the final—opportunity I have ever had."
"Final?"
Ruby had picked up on the ominous note in No. 18's words and asked for clarification. No. 18 answered without hesitation.
"My malfunctions are not limited to my visual system. I have managed to keep going by borrowing parts from other Androids that have already stopped functioning... but I have reached my limit."
Her limit, huh? She was not merely malfunctioning; she was on the verge of breaking down.
"Therefore, the arrival of the 'Nightwalkers' is the final opportunity for me, as I will soon stop functioning."
"That makes this a serious responsibility."
This was her final challenge before she broke down. We could not afford to fail after agreeing to help her, could we? Well, we had come intending to win from the start, so it would not be a problem!
"I hereby renew my request. Please lend us your aid in defeating the Harpy Chief."
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Emergency Quest: Accept 'Tombstone Skyscraper'?
Yes/No
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Oh, a quest acceptance screen for the first time in a while. While I had been away, my companions had each been completing requests from the Birdians, so I was the only one who had not seen this screen in a long time.
That aside, of course I chose Yes. But the quest was called 'Tombstone Skyscraper'? That sounded ominous. Was there some objective besides defeating the Harpy Chief?
"Of course, we will accept the request."
"Ah, thank you. At last, I may be able to fulfill the final command given to me by the governor-general."
"Command?"
"Yes. Immediately after Skyland fell, my master, the governor-general, said to me, 'Build a tombstone for the city on the rooftop.' He passed away, leaving it as his last will."
I see. She wanted to fulfill her master's final command. And the Harpy Chief was in the way of building that tombstone.
"I will be satisfied if I can build the tombstone. I have prepared a reward for the request."
With that, No. 18 took a single key card from inside her coat.
"This is the governor-general's access key. Excluding the personal assets in the residential and commercial districts, it should allow access to most of the still-functioning facilities in the administrative and industrial districts."
Whoa! She had just produced something incredible! With this access key, would we not be able to explore the entire 'Ancient Ruined City' to our hearts' content?
"It would be a great help to us, but are you sure?"
In a sense, she had offered us the thing we wanted most as our reward. However, we would not merely be exploring. We would salvage every ancient relic we could find. It would amount to something very much like raiding a tomb. Was she really all right with that?
"I have no objection. The magical artifacts that are crystallizations of wisdom are useless in this ruined city. The tools would be happier in the hands of those who need them. Please explore to your heart's content and take the items with you."
Was that really how she saw it? No, she was an Android. According to 【Appraisal】, unbelievably, she was a type of Golem. Perhaps, as a fellow created being, she felt that being used was precisely what made one happy.
"However, possessing the access key will not stop the security Golems from attacking you. They are configured to capture humans who are not registered residents or do not have tourist visas, and to eliminate monsters."
Ugh, seriously? I had thought we would not have to fight hordes of Golems after all... Apparently, we were not going to get off that easily.
"If you're fine with that, we have no objection. Let us set aside the matter of the reward and devise a strategy. No. 18-dono, please provide us with all the information you know about the Harpy Chief."
"Understood."
No. 18 told us a great deal of information. She certainly had not challenged the Harpy Chief countless times for nothing.
First, the Harpy Chief was simply a Harpy Leader made gigantic. However, it was apparently about five meters from the top of its head to the tip of its tail feathers.
A bird boss monster brought to mind the Twin-Head Wind Eagle we had fought before coming to the floating island. That monster had two heads and four wings, but its body was only somewhat larger than that of an ordinary eagle. At five meters, this one was larger than Cal, the Lesser Dragon.
Because of its excessively large body, the Harpy Chief apparently had difficulty flying despite being a bird monster. In exchange, it was far tougher than ordinary Harpies and possessed tremendous power. Furthermore, each individual feather was as hard as steel, and the wings they formed were as sharp as knives. It seemed to be an even more troublesome opponent than I had expected.
As for its entourage, there were apparently as many as ten Harpy Leaders. Like the ones we had fought, they maintained excellent coordination while casting their signature magic from the air. Some of them could even use 【Healing Arts】, so failing to eliminate them quickly would cause serious trouble.
Having the boss act as the vanguard while its entourage provided support from the rear was a pattern we were encountering for the first time. Securing air superiority would be crucial in this battle. At the very least, we had to prevent the Harpy Leaders from providing covering fire.
"So Cal and I will need to fly?"
"Then we will fight the Harpy Chief on the ground, while you and your companions keep the Harpy Leaders occupied in the air?"
"That's right. We do not know how powerful the Harpy Chief is, but the key to this boss battle will probably be how quickly we can eliminate its entourage."
"May I make a suggestion?"
There were things we could not know without seeing the actual battlefield, so I imagined various scenarios and worked out our tactics. At that point, No. 18 quietly raised her hand and offered a proposal.
"Would you permit me to participate in the battle against the Harpy Chief as well?"
"You too?"
I considered it. We should accommodate the client's wishes as much as possible, and her weapon was a firearm—a long-range weapon that completely shattered the world's aesthetic. She should be able to target the Harpy Chief from behind us or the Harpy Leaders from below. She would certainly be a valuable addition to our forces.
However, as she had admitted herself, she was on the verge of breaking down. If even a few stray bullets hit her, she might genuinely break. Considering that risk, I could not give her an immediate answer.
"I assure you that I will not hinder you in any way. Please, I beg of you."
"...I suppose we have no choice."
In the end, I gave in and allowed her to accompany us. I would consider bringing her along and getting her back alive to be part of the quest as well. The difficulty had risen dramatically, though.
After No. 18's participation was settled, I questioned her further about the Harpy Chief's detailed behavior patterns. Then, using the various information we had gathered, we constructed our battle strategy.